Friday, June 24, 2011

Indoor Hanging Planter


I really wanted to find a way to hang some plants in my apartment, but there is a serious shortage of good looking, indoor hanging planters out there.  Soon I realized it wouldn't be too difficult to make one myself, and it turned out to be much cheaper than some of the nicer ones I had seen.

I started by going to TJ Maxx to find a good bowl.  I ended up finding the perfect one -  a bamboo bowl used for serving salads and things like that.  I recommend using this bowl for many reasons.  It is made of bamboo so it easy to drill holes though.  It comes in MANY colors and MANY sizes and it barely weighs anything, so it is not too scary to hang.  However, you can use any type of bowl that you can either drill holes through, or tie rope to if it has handles.

Things you need:
  • rope
  • bowl
  • plastic bag (depending on bowl)
  • plant + soil
  • ceiling hook with anchor
  • electric drill

Steps:

1. Drill  
Drill 2 small holes near the top of the bowl about an inch apart from each other.  Then drill 2 holes directly across from them.  Next, drill another set of holes directly in between the first 2 sets, and finally drill 2 holes directly across from the last set. 

If your bowl was a clock, you would have 2 holes drilled at 12:00, 3:00, 6:00 and 9:00.

2.  Tie
Measure out 4 pieces of rope equal in length (they should be slightly longer than double the length you want your plant to hang).  First, take 2 ropes and slip them into the holes drilled at 12:00 (1 rope in 1 hole), and tie them together on the inside of the bowl.   Then slip the opposite ends of the same ropes into the holes drilled opposite them at 6:00.  Tie them the same way.

*Make sure when you tie these, that they are the same height.  It helped to have someone else hold them together at the height I wanted the plant to hang, so I knew they were even.   



Repeat this step with the holes drilled at 3:00 and 9:00.  Make sure they are all the same height after you tie them.  To accomplish this, it is easiest if someone holds them in place above you while you tie them.  

Now you should have 2 pairs of rope intersecting at the same height above the planter like an X.



3. Plant
Because my bowl is made of bamboo I lined it with a plastic bag so extra water did not cause the bowl to break.  A bamboo bowl is not meant to hold water for long periods of time.  If you use a porcelain bowl, a plastic bag is not needed.  Then I just transferred my plant to the bowl and added extra soil.  

4.  Hang
Install the ceiling hook and hang your beautiful planter.  It may take a little adjusting to get it to hang perfectly level, but it will :)

Here is a video on how to hang a ceiling hook in case it's your first time:  How to hang a ceiling hook

1 comment:

Daina said...

Oh, I need to try this. I would love to add some more plants to my apartment! Another great idea Jen!